Pizza takeaway chain Domino’s today reported a 10 per cent increase in sales for the year ending December 28th as increasing numbers of people ordered in takeaways.
The chain, which has 49 outlets in the Republic, said it is confident of delivering 2008 profits ahead of market expectations.
Analysts' forecasts for full-year pretax profit range between £22.3 and £23.2 million (€24.4 million and €25.4 million).
Domino's, which operates the UK and Ireland franchise of the global home delivery brand, said for the 13 weeks to December 28th, comparable sales rose by 8.6 per cent.
Domino's, which is targeting a network of 1,000 stores in the UK and Ireland, said it exceeded its target of opening 50 stores a year in 2008, opening 52 new outlets to bring the total number to 553, and creating 1,500 jobs.
Total sales increased by 18.4 per cent to £350.8 million (€383.9 million).
Shares in Domino's Pizza have outperformed the FTSE All Share Food Producers Index by over 30 per cent during the past 12 months, reflecting hopes the company will benefit from customers looking to save money by ordering in takeaways instead of eating out.
Agencies